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Where the rubber meets the road

written by
Richard N. Steinberg

As professor of Physics and Education at City College of New York, I routinely work with recent high school graduates as well as with physics teachers in training. I was therefore compelled to spend a year as a full time physics teacher in an inner city public high school. I was empowered with knowledge of Physics Education Research, well-designed curricula shown to be effective, formal teacher education training, countless hours in high school classrooms, and cultural roots in New York City. Within one day I knew I was overmatched. In this presentation, I will share some of the challenges I encountered and some of what I learned about what works in this environment.

Richard Steinberg is Professor in the School of Education and the Department of Physics and Program Director of Science Education at City College of New York since 1999. He received a Ph.D. in applied physics and a secondary teaching certificate from the Teacher Preparation Program from Yale University. For more than 20 years his scholarship has been on research and development of physics / science education, innovative instruction, teacher education, and outreach to local schools. He has published dozens of books, refereed articles, and curricula and has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, the National Academy of Education, and the Eisenhower Higher Education Professional Development Program. Topics have ranged from elementary school science to quantum mechanics; from curriculum development to teacher education. He is a former Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow and CCNY Teacher of the Year. During sabbatical in 2007-08, he was a full time science teacher in a public high school in New York City.

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